In the TH Style.
Highlights:
General Observations:
Match of the Night:Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Steen, ROH Championship Tournament Semifinal - I've criticized Elgin a lot since I first was really immersed in his star at Battle of Los Angeles in 2012. The art of HOSS is a delicate one, which seems paradoxical on the surface. Hosses are huge dudes who throw hands and sell more gradually than smaller wrestlers, but invincibility feels like an art that requires a lot of fine tuning. Elgin has always felt robotic, mechanical, sterile to me, and in theory, those qualities aren't bad, per se. However, I feel like the character Elgin has and the way he has executed in the ring always were disconnected, at least until I saw him at Death before Dishonor.
While Kevin Steen is almost always excellent, I don't want to give him all the credit. Still, the way he does the little things, like getting red-faced over "Mr. Wrestling!" chants, grasping for a rope break on a simple arm-wringer, or grumbling at the ref for petty issues adds so much to his bigger picture. If a perfect opponent for Elgin to work as a canvas off existed, I feel like Steen is that guy. That synergy shone through in this match. Steen's heft made Elgin's strongman deadlift spots - ESPECIALLY the Everest German - look that much more impressive, and Steen dealt on his strikes and moves like he always does.
But Elgin was the revelation to me, here. For the first time since I saw him wrestle Chris Hero at the Armory in January of 2012, I saw him emote, sell with vigor, and actually participate in a wrestling match that was a story different than him going all golem and shrugging off blows like he was all hopped up on Mario Starman. The most telling part of the match for me was when Elgin took a Steen sleeperplex, got up on all fours with exasperation in his face, and grabbed his neck before rising slowly to Steen's disbelief. This match featured the Michael Elgin I want to see.
Overall Thoughts: I didn't know what to expect from the show going into it except that at least half the matches might end up going on a bit longer than they should have. Astonishingly, the only contest I thought really stretched the boundaries of my attention span was the one match I was almost positive would be awesome going into it. Adam Cole vs. Tomasso Ciampa ended up being the Davey Richards Memorial Overkill Match of the evening, which was impressive given Richards was on the card teaming with Eddie Edwards against two New Japan gaijin. To be fair, the Forever Hooligans turned out to be awesome imports from Japan's leading wrestling promotion.
Sure, Cole and Michael Elgin reached some points in the main event I thought superfluous, and the way the match was laid out would have lent itself so much better if Cole had to cheat to win. Jay Briscoe foreshadowed a heel turn in the pre-show promo, but I think the way the whole sequence played out - Cole beating Elgin clean, then Briscoe meekly handing over the belt as if he was a hobbiel homeless dude rather than the former Champ - felt a bit rough. Maybe I'm being one of "those fans" by quibbling over story details over a pleasing end result, Adam Cole going full rudo, a role he's born to play.
However, I watched a similar metamorphosis in PWG last year at the conclusion of their own tournament. Cole went to war with Michael Elgin and called out the Champion just to kick his ass. ROH pretty much did the same thing, only replacing Kevin Steen with Briscoe, only with less impact. Cole's rise to the top isn't the first time ROH followed PWG's lead, and I have to reiterate that in essence, nothing is wrong with trying something that worked in another company. However, you have to do it as well but preferably better than the original. ROH didn't do it better.
In fact, for as much as I enjoyed the wrestling on the show on the whole, I can't come out of this show with a good feeling. ROH had no reason to let the fan who threw a quarter at Seleziya Sparx and catcall her with vulgarity remain in his seat. I don't care if you want to ride the edge, you don't cross lines, and you don't allow your fans to do so with impunity. She could, and should, press charges because a coin has potential to hurt pretty bad. I'm tired of having to be ashamed of being a wrestling fan because of scumbags who do shit like that. Absolutely tired. We as fans shouldn't tolerate misogyny, even if the matches were good.
So, because of the above, I hesitate to recommend the show for repeat viewing. Yeah, good wrestling took place, but the show fell short in storytelling and basic human decency. Advocating a boycott of indie wrestling (or in ROH's case, corporate wrestling co-opting an indie ethic using indie stars) is tricky because the wrestlers need support. With ROH callously banning them from making extra scratch through Pro Wrestling Tees, they've forced the fans' collective hand. Maybe if you shout for fostering a better environment loud enough, then maybe they'll listen.
And hey, if you want to watch what ROH might do in the future, just keep current with PWG. You'll be informed of their plans in advance. (And yeah, I know PWG crowds are problematic with their chants as well, but to my knowledge, they haven't assaulted a female wrestler/valet in an attempt to get nudity without being tossed from the building.)
Highlights:
- Vinny Marseglia defeated Will Ferrara with a school boy in the dark match. Steve Corino came out with a placard stumping for his ROH job back, distracting the match in the process.
- Jay Briscoe came out and cut a promo to start the show, promising to hand the World Championship over to whoever wins the tournament, as long as they do it "like a man."
- Jay Lethal pinned Silas Young after a back handspring into an Ace Crusher.
- In the first of two semifinal matches, Adam Cole pinned Tomasso Ciampa after the latter passed out in the figure four leglock.
- Michael Elgin tapped out Kevin Steen with the crossface in the other semifinal.
- In a rollicking tag match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Championships, the Forever Hooligans defend their titles against the American Wolves, via a double team springboard knee in the Argentine rack on Davey Richards.
- RD Evans and Veda Scott were interrupted by Adam Page leading to a match which Page won with a modified Beach Break.
- Roderick Strong put Ricky Marvin away with the Tiger Driver.
- BJ Whitmer retired, but not before stumping for Jimmy Jacobs to get his job back. Nigel McGuinness acquiesced, giving Jacobs the shot at the next day's TV tapings.
- In the eight-man tag, Cedric Alexander pinned Kyle O'Reilly with a frogsplash.
- After the match, Outlaws, Inc. cleared the ring, and Eddie Kingston called out the winner of the tournament.
- Adam Cole defeated Michael Elgin with three straitjacket German suplexes to become the new ROH World Champion.
- Briscoe handed the belt to Cole, and as he turned around, Cole kicked him in the back of the head before attacking Elgin.
General Observations:
- The venue was way more strapped for parking than the last event I saw there, National Pro Wrestling Day. The proliferation of US Government license plates led me to believe the National Guard Armory was hosting the National Guard that weekend. Attendance was still pretty good though.
- Steve Corino and a portly, neck-bearded minion carrying a placard with "Say no to drugs and Ring of Honor, reinstate Steve Corino," came out from the back, openly campaigning for his job back during the dark match. Corino got into it with fans, Joe Koff, and even Vinny Marseglia before being ejected from the arena forcibly. The interaction didn't figure into the finish, which actually didn't surprise me.
- Shout out to the dude with the tournament bracket on his sign.
- Jay Briscoe looked like he hadn't shaved or taken a shower in millennia. The esteemed Lobster Mobster, Jessica Hudnall, remarked that she thought the white James Harden had come out to cut a promo.
- Briscoe made mention of the "higher ups" in Ring of Honor? SO SHOCKED.
- Briscoe dropped a nugget of foreshadowing - "If the winner of the match wins the title like a man, fair and square, I'll hand the belt over to them." Passive-aggressive threatening seemed new to Briscoe's verbal repertoire.
- Silas Young live looked a lot like Austin Aries after eating a Mario Mushroom, and they're both from Milwaukee. Sure they're not related?
- Randy Savage chants broke out for Black Machismo, Jay Lethal, who took them as a sign to go for the flying elbow. He didn't hit one during the match at all though, which kinda bummed me out. I wanted to see if he could at least surpass CM Punk's dreadful elbow.
- Opening match got a "This is awesome!" chant.
- Lethal's back handspring cutter is one of the best bang-bang moves I've ever seen, live or otherwise.
- Tomasso Ciampa's entrance is a must-experience live. The flatline into the rising music with Ciampa coming out like he is a Sicilian Psychopath sets such a frenzied mood.
- Ciampa mauled Adam Cole from the bell, setting up a gnarly series of spots on the outside. Ciampa sent Cole into the guardrail and kneed him in the face twice, working his way around the ringside area. On the third knee attempt, Cole moved and they jostled a bit until Ciampa sent him into the barricade with a spinebuster. They followed that spot up with a mat-removal and suplex tease that ended up having Cole eat a vertical on the concrete. Okay, this match started out okay...
- They paced the contest pretty nicely until about eight minutes in when they just started going full Davey Richards. You never go full Davey Richards.
- Even as the match unraveled horrendously, Cole turned a mixed crowd into one solidly for Ciampa by ruthlessly going after the knee that kept him out for most the last year period. By the end of the match, Ciampa was rockstar over.
- Kevin Steen gave the crowd doe-eyed smiley faces and ruddy cheeks over "Mr. Wrestling" chants. Stark change from his cantankerous "fuck Jim Cornette and fuck you" character the last time he was in Philly with ROH. Wow, his entire ROH World Championship reign was contained between trips to Philly? Jesus.
- Steen attacked Michael Elgin in the corner, exhausting the ref's count until he shouted "I HAVE 'TIL FIVE!" Elgin reciprocated. Man, everyone looking to cash in on Daniel Bryan's success.
- Elgin's deadlift spots are impressive looking regardless, but against girthy-ass Kevin Steen? Yeah, he looked like the Juggernaut.
- Elgin got up after the match holding his neck. GEE, I WONDER IF THAT WILL PLAY IN THE END? Weird, my CAPS Lock key was stuck down...
- Forever Hooligans made their way into the arena, and I was already geeked out for them. Big fur coats? Russian fur hat on Alex Koslov? Eye-patch for Romero? Badass skull-in-fur-hat logo on the back of their coats? THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM? Please, Forever Hooligans, never go back to Japan. Never, ever go back to Japan.
- For as much disdain as I have for Davey Richards, he never fails to entertain me by acting like a total scuzzball. So yeah, Richards behind the Hooligans during the aforementioned anthem grinding and dry-humping them was a source of entertainment.
- Kozlov and Romero at one point during the match feigned like they were gonna EXPLODE, even going so far as bowing up, but they hugged it out. Have I mentioned I love these guys yet?
- Kozlov put back on his fuzzy hat and did the Russian Hat Dance into some kicks. Yeah, I'm in the bag for these guys.
- Come to think of it, Richards hasn't gone FULL RICHARDS in a long time. I wonder if he was just trolling everyone for the year he was on top of ROH.
- After intermission, RD Evans and Veda Scott came out to address their rough treatment at the hands of Outlaw, Inc. Evans and Eddie Kingston, interacting? Seems familiar.
- Evans got a bunch of "Feed me more" chants, which was funny since Ryback doesn't even get them anymore. His catchphrase is now used as a joke for other wrestlers who were fed to him on WWE programming.
- Adam Page, coming out to interject himself into Evans' spiel, spent the entire match trying to keep his trucker hat on. I can dig that kind of character quirkiness. The hat got knocked off his head, found its way into Scott's possession before Evans put it on his own head for some considerable heat. Wrestling can be so awesome sometimes.
- I feel bad not writing a whole lot about Roderick Strong vs. Ricky Marvin, but it was a nondescript match. However, during this match, I smelled a distinct aroma of marijuana. So did everyone else, which elicited a "Pass that shit!" chant.
- The eight-man tag may have been the match I was looking forward to the most, but the aura was ruined by a shithead fan in the front row throwing a quarter at Seleziya Sparx and yelling at her "SHOW ME YOUR TITS." Why wasn't that fan ejected by ROH security? Is a hostile environment towards women who may not dress the most conservatively one that ROH wishes to foster? Just baffling.
- Tournament final time, Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin, and I swear, I feel like I saw that one before...
- Our judges for decision in case the match went 60 minutes were Cary Silkin, Joe Koff, and Prince Nana. I didn't know whether to take the specter of a time-limit draw as a possibility or a threat.
- Elgin again exceeded expectation for me, as he kept going back to selling his neck, even on offense. I didn't not expect that from the big Canadian, whom I've come to anticipate the kind of reaction to pain that The Thing would take from those Yancy Street Gang grunts.
- The match went into some major finisher spam, but for whatever reason, the sequences clicked with me, especially on Cole's end, because I was totally expecting him to cheat to win. In fact, putting out the ref bump as a red herring just felt unnecessary. I think sometimes, when you foreshadow something to happen, you can commit to it fully without leaving all the juice in one singular swerve.
- Cole winning with a billion straitjacket suplexes actually worked pretty well with the context of Elgin's "bad" neck.
- Briscoe came out to hand the belt over with the meekest posture, as if he was subservient to Cole the whole time.
Match of the Night:Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Steen, ROH Championship Tournament Semifinal - I've criticized Elgin a lot since I first was really immersed in his star at Battle of Los Angeles in 2012. The art of HOSS is a delicate one, which seems paradoxical on the surface. Hosses are huge dudes who throw hands and sell more gradually than smaller wrestlers, but invincibility feels like an art that requires a lot of fine tuning. Elgin has always felt robotic, mechanical, sterile to me, and in theory, those qualities aren't bad, per se. However, I feel like the character Elgin has and the way he has executed in the ring always were disconnected, at least until I saw him at Death before Dishonor.
While Kevin Steen is almost always excellent, I don't want to give him all the credit. Still, the way he does the little things, like getting red-faced over "Mr. Wrestling!" chants, grasping for a rope break on a simple arm-wringer, or grumbling at the ref for petty issues adds so much to his bigger picture. If a perfect opponent for Elgin to work as a canvas off existed, I feel like Steen is that guy. That synergy shone through in this match. Steen's heft made Elgin's strongman deadlift spots - ESPECIALLY the Everest German - look that much more impressive, and Steen dealt on his strikes and moves like he always does.
But Elgin was the revelation to me, here. For the first time since I saw him wrestle Chris Hero at the Armory in January of 2012, I saw him emote, sell with vigor, and actually participate in a wrestling match that was a story different than him going all golem and shrugging off blows like he was all hopped up on Mario Starman. The most telling part of the match for me was when Elgin took a Steen sleeperplex, got up on all fours with exasperation in his face, and grabbed his neck before rising slowly to Steen's disbelief. This match featured the Michael Elgin I want to see.
Overall Thoughts: I didn't know what to expect from the show going into it except that at least half the matches might end up going on a bit longer than they should have. Astonishingly, the only contest I thought really stretched the boundaries of my attention span was the one match I was almost positive would be awesome going into it. Adam Cole vs. Tomasso Ciampa ended up being the Davey Richards Memorial Overkill Match of the evening, which was impressive given Richards was on the card teaming with Eddie Edwards against two New Japan gaijin. To be fair, the Forever Hooligans turned out to be awesome imports from Japan's leading wrestling promotion.
Sure, Cole and Michael Elgin reached some points in the main event I thought superfluous, and the way the match was laid out would have lent itself so much better if Cole had to cheat to win. Jay Briscoe foreshadowed a heel turn in the pre-show promo, but I think the way the whole sequence played out - Cole beating Elgin clean, then Briscoe meekly handing over the belt as if he was a hobbiel homeless dude rather than the former Champ - felt a bit rough. Maybe I'm being one of "those fans" by quibbling over story details over a pleasing end result, Adam Cole going full rudo, a role he's born to play.
However, I watched a similar metamorphosis in PWG last year at the conclusion of their own tournament. Cole went to war with Michael Elgin and called out the Champion just to kick his ass. ROH pretty much did the same thing, only replacing Kevin Steen with Briscoe, only with less impact. Cole's rise to the top isn't the first time ROH followed PWG's lead, and I have to reiterate that in essence, nothing is wrong with trying something that worked in another company. However, you have to do it as well but preferably better than the original. ROH didn't do it better.
In fact, for as much as I enjoyed the wrestling on the show on the whole, I can't come out of this show with a good feeling. ROH had no reason to let the fan who threw a quarter at Seleziya Sparx and catcall her with vulgarity remain in his seat. I don't care if you want to ride the edge, you don't cross lines, and you don't allow your fans to do so with impunity. She could, and should, press charges because a coin has potential to hurt pretty bad. I'm tired of having to be ashamed of being a wrestling fan because of scumbags who do shit like that. Absolutely tired. We as fans shouldn't tolerate misogyny, even if the matches were good.
So, because of the above, I hesitate to recommend the show for repeat viewing. Yeah, good wrestling took place, but the show fell short in storytelling and basic human decency. Advocating a boycott of indie wrestling (or in ROH's case, corporate wrestling co-opting an indie ethic using indie stars) is tricky because the wrestlers need support. With ROH callously banning them from making extra scratch through Pro Wrestling Tees, they've forced the fans' collective hand. Maybe if you shout for fostering a better environment loud enough, then maybe they'll listen.
And hey, if you want to watch what ROH might do in the future, just keep current with PWG. You'll be informed of their plans in advance. (And yeah, I know PWG crowds are problematic with their chants as well, but to my knowledge, they haven't assaulted a female wrestler/valet in an attempt to get nudity without being tossed from the building.)